-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Egyptian military and intelligence officials say they are preparing to launch an operation against al Qaeda cells that have recently been established in the restive Sinai peninsula .

While Egypt has seen a number of homegrown militant Islamist groups emerge and dissipate over the past 20 years , none has had clear organizational links with al Qaeda .

But senior officials told CNN that al Qaeda cells have now surfaced in northern Sinai , which has seen acts of sabotage and clashes between rival Salafist groups this year . Among the incidents , a gas pipeline to Israel was blown up several times .

The focus of their concern is the coastal area between el-Arish , a resort town of about 80,000 people on the Mediterranean , and Rafah on the border with Gaza .

`` Al Qaeda is present in Sinai mainly in the area of Sakaska close to Rafah , '' a general in Egypt 's intelligence service told CNN Thursday . `` They have been training there for month , but we have not identified their nationalities yet . ''

The official said a military operation was imminent `` to deter these armed groups . ''

`` Units from the 2nd infantry division , with support from general security and the border guards , '' would take part in the operation , said the secretary general for North Sinai governorate , Gaber al-Araby .

`` We plan to clean out those criminal pockets around the area of Rafah and Sheikh Zuweid , '' al-Araby said .

A group claiming affiliation with al Qaeda has recently begun a propaganda campaign in the region , according to Egyptian officials .

The authority of the state has rarely carried much weight in the Sinai peninsula , where Bedouin tribes have great autonomy .

Gen. Abdel Wahab , the governor of North Sinai confirmed that a flier titled `` Al Qaeda Sinai Branch '' circulated outside a mosque in el-Arish on Wednesday . The document called for an Islamic state in Sinai and announced that the group was planning attacks on the police stations and security forces Friday .

`` A security cordon has been placed around the entrances of el-Arish and reinforcements arrived outside the police stations and the el-Arish central prison in anticipation of an attack on Friday , '' said Hazem El Maadawi , an officer stationed outside the North Sinai police headquarters .

`` Tomorrow is the big day , '' El Maadawi said , adding that he feared the worst .

At the end of last month , seven people were killed in clashes in el-Arish .

The clashes began after members of a militant Islamist group called Takfir wal-Hijra stormed a rally being held by another Salafist group outside a mosque .

Mohamed Mahmoud , who was among the protesters , told CNN ; `` The Takfiris stormed in by the hundreds mounted on pickup trucks and motorcycles waving black flags , a symbol of Jihad . ''

`` The militants were heavily armed with machine guns , hand grenades and rocked-propelled grenades , '' he said . `` They attacked two police stations and scared the residents under the name of Jihad . We only call for Jihad if someone attacks our Islamic country or people . ''

The head of security in North Sinai , Gen. Saleh al Masry , told CNN last week that Takfir-wal-Higra had become active during the revolution that led to the ousting of President Hosni Mubarak .

`` The terrorists were joined by members of Palestinian factions and they are currently being questioned by military intelligence . We arrested 12 assailants including three Palestinians , '' al Masry said .

What 's not clear is whether the Takfiris are part of -- or aligned with -- the al Qaeda cells said to be training in Sinai .

The new leader of al Qaeda , Ayman al-Zawahiri , is Egyptian and before leaving his homeland in the mid-1980s , had similar views to Takfir about overthrowing the Egyptian state and replacing it with Islamic rule .

More recently al-Zawahiri has recorded several messages exhorting Salafists in Egypt to take advantage of the ousting of Mubarak .

In an audio message that appeared on Jihadist forums earlier this month , al - Zawahiri said : `` I commend the heroes who blew up the gas pipeline to Israel . I ask Allah to reward them for their heroic act , for they have expressed the anger of the Islamic Ummah against this continuing crime from the reign of Hosni Mubarak to the rule of the Military Council . ''

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Egypt sees homegrown militant Islamist groups emerge and dissipate over the years

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None has had clear organizational links with al Qaeda

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But al Qaeda cells have surfaced in northern Sinai , senior officials say

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`` They have been training there for month , '' official says